'Will CM Uddhav probe Shiv Sena too?': BJP pans inquiry into Fadnavis govt's pet scheme

On Wednesday, BJP MLA Ashish Shelar lashed out at the Maharashtra government for ordering an SIT probe into Jalyukt Shivar, the flagship scheme of the Fadnavis era. According to him, this step was akin to questioning the work done by labourers and farmers. Shelar claimed that 99% of the works under this scheme were completed without any allegation of corruption.

He downplayed the CAG report on Jalyukt Shivar, alleging that the scope of its inquiry was narrow. Terming the SIT probe as "sheer injustice", the BJP leader questioned Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray on whether his government would investigate Shiv Sena's role as the party was in alliance with BJP when the scheme was implemented. Thereafter, he urged the state government to not misguide the people. 

BJP MLA Ashish Shelar remarked, "The inquiry into the Jalyukt Shivar scheme constituted by the Maharashtra government is akin to probing the work done by the labourers and farmers. The works of Jal Yukt Shivar continued even with the people's participation and public money. This is akin to setting up an inquiry on farmers. 99% of the works were completed without any allegation of corruption. The CAG conducted an inquiry only into 0.17% of the villages. The CAG's inquiry report is based on 0.53% of the completed works. This inquiry reeks of sheer injustice. As far as the inquiry is concerned, Shiv Sena Ministers were a part of the Cabinet in which the Jal Yukt Shivar scheme was formulated. Shiv Sena MLAs also contributed to the scheme. Will the Thackeray government also probe Shiv Sena? Please do not mislead the people."

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The Jalyukt Shivar scheme

The scheme was launched during Devendra Fadnavis’ tenure as the Maharashtra CM in December 2014. Hundreds of villages in regions such as Vidarbha and Marathwada often tend to experience droughts for years together. The Jalyukt Shivar set an ambitious target of making 5,000 drought-prone villages free of water scarcity. Under this scheme, various water conservation initiatives such as the construction of farm ponds, rejuvenation of water storage capacity, building decentralised water bodies and so forth were undertaken.

After assuming power, the Maha Vikas Aghadi government reportedly stopped the funding to this scheme. In its report tabled on the floor of the Maharashtra Legislature, the CAG observed that Jalyukt Shivar, under which Rs.9633.75 crore was spent, was not much effective. As per the CAG, the scheme had little impact on achieving water neutrality and increasing the groundwater level. Moreover, the country's topmost auditor remarked that there was a lack of transparency in the execution of projects under this scheme. Incidentally, the Thackeray government's decision came a day after PM Modi lauded the work done by Fadnavis as far as Jalyukt Shivar is concerned. 

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